


Clumsy

by QueenPlatypus



Category: Open Heart (Visual Novels)
Genre: Accidents, Clumsiness, F/M, Secrets, Suspicions, Worry, break up mentions, startled
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-11
Updated: 2020-12-11
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:20:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28001541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenPlatypus/pseuds/QueenPlatypus
Summary: Ethan seems on edge recently, as if he was hiding something. Not knowing stresses Hailey more than anything.
Relationships: Ethan Ramsey/Main Character (Open Heart)
Kudos: 15





	Clumsy

Hailey was quick to notice that something was up with Ethan. For the last few days, he seemed on edge for a reason she couldn’t exactly pinpoint.

Of course, she tried asking him directly, but it only ended with him dropping the glass he had been holding before he brushed her off and told her that he only got startled because he didn’t hear her coming.

She had no intention of giving up until she could find out what was going on with him. So the next morning, she got to work half an hour earlier than usual and headed straight to the hospital’s gym, where she knew he would be. Unmistakably, he was there, jogging on the treadmill, his eyes focused on the wall in front of him and his lips muttering something at the same time. She frowned, whatever was happening was clearly taking much place in his mind. She stepped carefully until she was right next to him. Still, it seemed like he was so focused that he didn’t even notice she was there.

“Ethan?”

What happened next went on so quickly she could not prevent it. He gasped, lost all focus and footing, and fell, rolling out of the treadmill. He groaned upon landing on his shoulder and Hailey’s eyes widened, immediately dropping to her knees besides him.

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean… Are you okay?” She asked him.

“I’m fine…” He mumbled while sitting down.

“Are you sure? You fell pretty hard.”

“I’m okay, Hails. I promise.”

He got up, walking to stop the treadmill. She did the same, still eyeing him curiously.

“Do you want something? You’re not here this early, usually.” He said.

“I… I just wanted to check up on you. You seem… tense.”

“What? I’m not.” He said.

“Ethan. You just fell off the treadmill because you didn’t hear me. Clearly, there’s something on your mind.”

He shrugged.

“I think you’re just seeing things. Nothing is going on.”

“Then why do I feel like you’re hiding something from me?”

He sighed, getting closer before he engulfed her in his arms.

“Ew, you’re all sweaty.” She complained.

He chuckled.

“You need reassurance. I promise everything is fine. You absolutely have nothing to worry about.”

“Are you sure? I still feel like there’s something you’re not saying.”

“I’m sure.”

He kissed the top of her head before stepping away.

“Time to get ready, we have a case first thing.”

She nodded.

“Yes, doctor.”

***

A few hours after this discussion, Hailey still wasn’t able to shake off the feeling that something was going on with Ethan. He might have promised her that nothing was going on and that she didn’t have to worry, but she couldn’t help herself.

At lunch, she shared her thoughts with her friends.

“I don’t know what’s going on, you guys… It’s not like he is avoiding me, but… he’s avoiding my questions.”

“Yeah… I don’t know what to tell you, Hails. I haven’t noticed anything.” Said Sienna before taking a bite out of her sandwich.

“Same. He’s his usual Dr. Ramsey self.” Added Elijah.

“Of course you wouldn’t see it. But…”

She stopped, her eyes widening.

“What if he wants to break up with me?” She asked.

“Oh, come on. He wouldn’t do that, that’s ridiculous.” Said Aurora.

“I’m serious… What if he’s just figuring out how to tell me and… oh God… That’s totally what’s going to happen, isn’t it? He’s going to dump me and… and…”

“Woah, woah, woah! Hailey, stop it! That’s not what is going on at all!” Interjected Sienna while she reached out to her.

“But how can you… Unless… Do you know something?”

Sienna’s eyes widened, but then she burst out in laughter. Only, it seemed forced.

“Whaa? Pff, _no!_ Why… Why would I know anything? That’s… haha… ridicul- OW!”

Hailey noticed Elijah mouth something in Sienna’s way while he shook his head.

“What did you just say to her?”

“Just to stop overreacting. Because it won’t help you if she keeps acting like that.” He said.

“Right…”

“But seriously, Hails. Ramsey would never break up with you. I just don’t see that happening, ever.” Added Aurora.

“If you say so…”

Hailey got up, her appetite suddenly gone.

“I have to get back. I’ll see you later.”

She didn’t wait for them to say something else, already heading for the elevator. Inside, she pressed the 7th button and she waited before the doors released her. She walked straight to the diagnostics office where she could see Ethan talk on the phone, a coffee mug in his hand. She was able to pick up on some words.

“… has to… secret… Hailey… suspecting already…”

She waited for him to hang up before entering the office.

“Ethan, I…”

Once again, he got startled. His hand holding the mug shook, spilling all the content on him. Upon feeling the burning liquid touch him, he yelped, throwing his head back in pain.

“Ethan!”

She rushed to his side, grabbing a few paper towels they kept in the office at all times, and started to press them on him, hoping to mop out the coffee.

“I’m so, so sorry! Here, let me…”

“Hails, it’s okay…”

“Did it burn you bad? Oh God, this is all my…”

He put his hand on hers, stopping her in her moves.

“I’ll be fine… Just… stop, please.” He winced.

She stepped back, her eyes lowering. She could feel them burning a little and she bit her lip as he got up, groaning in pain.

“I’ll… I’ll just go clean myself and…”

“Is there something I can do to help? I just feel so bad and…”

“No. I can do this on my own, thank you.”

He walked out of the office, leaving her alone and she sat down on a chair. Just what the hell was going on?

***

Her shift was about to be over and all she wanted to do was go home and roll up in her sheets until tomorrow morning.

She didn’t know what went wrong. Everything seemed fine between them just a week ago. What changed? Was he having second thoughts about them? Did he not want her around anymore?

Hailey didn’t know how she was able to go on with her day as if everything was fine. She surely didn’t feel like it. And clearly, Ethan didn’t either. Never in his life had he been so clumsy around her. He had always been so meticulous, attentive and aware of his surroundings. Always composed… And even if he denied the fact that something was amiss, Hailey knew better. Why would be act like that if nothing was going on?

“Dr. Fisherman, is everything okay?”

She looked up to see the gentle face of Dr. Banerji smiling reassuringly at her.

“Huh… Not really. I guess I just need to sleep it off.”

“Those worry lines won’t disappear with a night of sleep. Come on, you can talk to me.”

She sighed.

“It’s Ethan… He’s hiding something from me. He keeps saying that everything is fine and that I have nothing to worry about, but… He still won’t tell me. And… Because of me, he got hurt twice today.”

“Yes, I’ve heard about the coffee incident. He’ll be fine. As for your situation… I’m sure everything will work out just fine.”

“Do you… By any chance… Have any advice to offer? You’ve known him longer than I have.”

He shrugged with a smile.

“Trust in the process. Ethan will come to you eventually. I know it’s not that obvious right now, but… Everything will make sense before you know it.”

He patted her shoulder before going away. She sighed, nodding her head and going for the lockers to get changed.

***

She was alone at home that night. In her room, she made herself a blanket fort in which she was currently eating some ice cream. Everything was silent around her and she felt, for the first time today, relaxed. She let out a trembling sigh before taking another portion of the cookie dough ice cream.

When her phone rang, it was now her turn to get startled. She reached for it, seeing that Ethan was now calling her. She picked up.

“Hello?” She asked.

“Hi. Are you home right now?”

“Yes. Huh… Listen, I’m sorry again for making you fall and… for the coffee and…”

“Accidents can happen, Hailey. But right now… I have something more important to say to you. Think you can come outside?”

She gulped. Oh God, he was doing it now? It was truly over, then?

“Huh… Sure… I’ll be right out.” She said.

She hung up, taking a heavy breath before getting up, closing the lid of her ice cream. Throwing on a coat, she got down the stairs and out of her building. Only there, she didn’t see him anywhere. Instead… She saw an arrow drawn on the sidewalk with ‘follow me’ written on top. She frowned. What did this mean?

Curiously, she followed it. Soon, she found another one. And another one. She had no idea where she was headed, but she thought about what Naveen told her: to trust the process. So, she did.

After a moment, she realized she simply took a different route to go to Donahue’s. She cautiously looked at the door, before pushing it and getting inside the bar.

“SURPRISE!”

She almost jumped three feet into the air, letting out a shriek as her hand smashed on the wall. Calming down, she looked to see all of her friends, some interns, nurses and Ethan in a group under a ‘HAPPY BIRTHDAY HAILEY!’ banner. Her eyes widened.

“What?”

Her first reflex was to grab her phone. As the screen showed her it was, indeed, her birthday, she frowned. Did this really slip her mind?

“Happy birthday, Hailey!” Said Sienna before hugging her.

“Thanks, but… How did I not know it was my birthday? I should’ve had my parents text me, in the least…”

“Yeah… Fun fact, that’s actually not your phone. It’s Raf’s. We made the switch yesterday, during the movie.” Said Bryce.

“You got a lot of messages, by the way, the thing didn’t stop vibrating the whole day!” He laughed before handing it to her.

“Okay… Hum… Can I just sit down for a second? This is… a lot to process.”

“Of course, come with me.”

Ethan took her hand and guided her to the garden who only had two people sat down a few tables away. They sat down and Hailey sighed before watching her boyfriend with a frown.

“I suppose you want some… explanation.”

“I do… What the hell was all of that? You act so… distant all week and… then you invite me to my own surprise party?”

He sighed.

“This party was my idea. I thought… Seeing all of your friends would…”

“Wait… You did all this?”

He nodded.

“This is the kind of thing you like. And since it’s your birthday… I wanted to make you something special. It was easy to get your roommates and Reggie on board, but the hardest part was to successfully keep it from you without you suspecting anything.”

“How do you mean?”

“I guess you’ve seen it… When I have to keep something from someone I deeply care about… Even though I can lie with my words, by body language doesn’t want to follow. Hence me looking tense to you and… getting easily startled when you’re near.”

He turns to her, taking her hands in his.

“I’m sorry if I made you worry and if I seemed rude. It wasn’t my intention. I just… wanted everything to be perfect tonight.”

“Ethan…”

She finally smiles.

“Thank you. But next time… You really don’t need to do all of this. While I do appreciate having a private party with all of my friends and colleagues… I don’t need anything flashy. What I want… is for you to be honest with me and possibly… I don’t know… not put me in the amount of stress I was in all day?”

He winced.

“That bad, huh?”

“I thought you wanted to… break up with me.”

“Oh. Damn… No, that’s not happening anytime soon. It might never happen, hopefully.”

“Really? You like me that much?”

He laughed.

“Yes. Thought it was obvious, actually.”

She snorted, wiping her eyes as he watched her with a smile.

“By the way, how’s your… burn?”

“Better than earlier, still not enjoyable though.”

“I’m so sorry…”

“No, it’s not your fault. I just need to learn to… act more like myself when I plan a surprise for you. After all, I might need it again someday.”

“Not if I beat you to it, but… Yeah, maybe start working on your discretion skills before I believe you got an incurable disease or something.”

“Duly noted.”

She smiled before getting closer to him, leaning her head on his shoulder as she closed her eyes. He pulled her more against him with his arm around her waist, planting a kiss on her hair.

“I don’t believe I’ve said it yet, so… Happy birthday, Hailey.”

“Hmm… Thank you, Ethan.”

They stayed nuzzled together for a moment before getting back to the party.


End file.
